BWW Reviews: Splendid Man of La Mancha at MTW in Long Beach

Man of La Mancha/book by Dale Wasserman

music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion

directed by Nick DeGruccio/Musical Theatre West, Long Beach/through February 26

 

As many times as I have seen Man of La Mancha, I relish the music and high dramatic moments of this classic piece of theatre... being, naturally, that the production of it is top notch, with the right actors and skilled direction! MTW's current revival is top of the line, creme de la creme.

 

Nick DeGruccio lovingly directs the production with an outstanding ensemble headed by magnificent Davis Gaines as Cervantes/Quijana/Quixote and Lesli Margherita as Aldonza. Margherita is a prolific actress, who can roll with the punches of any role. Her Aldonza is jaded, yet fiery, and in the end completely vulnerable to Quixote's assessment of her. Gaines not only has one of the best tenor voices in the business, but has such clear and eloquent diction, which serves him well, especially as he transitions from Cervantes to the madness of Alonso Quijana and Quixote. The real surprise here is Justin Robertson as Sancho. Jovial and fiercely energetic, Sancho tends to be overplayed comedically at times, but Robertson wisely underplays and makes his character's straight forward logic ring true. Richard Gould is outstanding as the Governor/Innkeeper, and praise as well to other members of the ensemble: Sam Zeller, Steven Glaudini, a very physically agile and funny Barber, Karenssa Legear singing beautifully as Antonia, Damon Kirsche needing a bit more ego as Carrasco, et al.

 

Terrific staging by DeGruccio, rousing choreography from Carlos Mendoza and fine set design from Kevin Clowes and costume design by Cathleen Edwards all add to a rich evening of theatre. The elevator that brings the prisoners in and out is quite effective - it's slow but so was the enormous descending staircase used in the original Broadway production - and the center turntable is just dandy for certain segments of the story.

I have seen Richard Kiley (the original) and Raul Julia give astounding performances in the title role, but I must admit Davis Gaines' electric portrayal ranks right up there with the best of them.